Right from the start, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has not shown himself to be a typical politician. While his predecessors kept quiet on their tastes in music, Jokowi never had any reservations about declaring himself a fan of heavy metal groups Napalm Death, Metallica and Judas Priest.

While the country’s typical politicians don safari suits or batik for semi-formal occasions, Jokowi tends to prefer white long-sleeved shirts with rolled-up sleeves.

As he grew more confident in holding the country’s top job, Jokowi also became more comfortable in flouting convention on how a president must dress.

In November 2016, while addressing the nation, which was reeling from an anti-Ahok rally, it was his decision to wear a bomber jacket. It quickly became the talk of the town, with many on social media asking where they could buy the jacket.

It was reported that Zara outlets received slews of calls from people looking to buy it, while shops at the Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta were overwhelmed with orders from those who wanted to get their hands on its knock-off versions.

Jokowi has again pushed the envelope, this time during the inauguration ceremony for the Soekarno-Hatta airport train in Cengkareng, Banten, on Tuesday.

While many high-ranking officials wore suits and batik, Jokowi sported a collarless, crimson long-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans and red Nike Roshe One running shoes.

“Did you just exercise, Mr. President? I feel like I want to take off my suit right now,” said radio announcer and television personality Muhammad Farhan, who served as an MC for the event.

Jokowi responded that he dressed appropriately for the occasion.

“Why should I wear a suit to a train station and airport?” he said.

News reporters were not briefed about the dress code for the event, but Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) members were seen wearing equally casual attire in the form of white polo shirts, black cargo pants and running shoes.

It was not revealed who dressed Jokowi for the occasion but speculation was rife that the President’s youngest son, Kaesang, 24, a YouTuber with a massive following on social media, was responsible for his father’s sartorial choice.

It was Kaesang who suggested that Jokowi wear the bomber jacket in November 2016.

On social media, netizens speculated that Jokowi bought the crimson shirt from vendors on Jl. Malioboro, a famous tourist destination in Yogyakarta, the city where the President and his family celebrated New Year’s.

Fashion expert Didiet Maulana praised Jokowi for his penchant for breaking the presidential dress protocol, saying his fashion statement was a carefully managed public relations stunt aimed at sending a message
to the people.

Didiet said Jokowi chose to wear a collarless shirt for the Tuesday event to encourage people to take the train when going to the airport and dress appropriately for the trip.

In December 2016, Jokowi was spotted buying a pair of locally made blue flip-flops at a local department store in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, a move that Didiet said was Jokowi’s way of telling people to buy local products from local stores.

“Instead of telling people to be proud of being an Indonesian, Jokowi just showed them how,” Didiet said.

Political analyst Arya Fernandes from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Jokowi was trying to cultivate an image as an “average Joe” to sway would-be voters ahead of the presidential election in 2019.

Arya, however, warned about possible backlash resulting from the fashion choice.

“Don’t let people talk too much about what shirt or shoes he wore. People should stay focused on his job as President,” he said. (vla)

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